A flexible one-pot route to metal/metal oxide nanocomposites

We report a one-pot route to Au/CeO2 nanocomposites. A readily-available biopolymer, sodium alginate, is exploited for controlled formation and stabilisation of gold nanoparticles followed by in situ growth of a sponge-like network of CeO2 nanoparticles. The flexible nature of this method as a general route to mixed metal/metal oxide nanocomposites is also demonstrated

Review of \u3ci\u3eCarpophilus (Ecnomorphus)\u3c/i\u3e Motschulsky, 1858 (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae: Carpophilinae) in the West Indies

Two new species of Carpophilus Stephens, 1829 in the subgenus Ecnomorphus Motschulsky, 1858 (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae) were recovered in material from the Caribbean. Descriptions and detailed diagnoses are provided for Carpophilus (Ecnomorphus) jamaicensis Powell and Schnepp, new species and Carpophilus (Ecnomorphus) thomasi Powell and Schnepp, new species. A key to the Carpophilus (Ecnomor­phus) of the West Indies is appended. The family Nitidulidae Latreille is distributed throughout the world and reported broadly throughout the West Indies (Blackwelder 1945). The family represents one of the most diverse lineages of cucujoid beetles; however, the group remains one of the more difficult to reliably identify. Specifically, the genus Carpophilus Stephens is often considered one of the most troublesome and diverse within the family and is commonly misidentified or unidentified in larger faunistic studies. Carpophilus currently contains more than 250 described species recorded from all major land masses except Antarctica (Powell et al. 2020). The subgenus Ecnomorphus Motschulsky, was erected in 1858 and is currently one of the largest subgenera with over 50 valid species worldwide (Kirejtshuk 2008, Powell 2020). A full generic and subgeneric level synonymy is given by Kirejtshuk (2008). Ecnomorphus is diagnosed by the following characters: 1) antennal club loosely formed between the 9th and 10th antennal seg­ments and 2) having an overall more dorsoventrally flattened body form. The following newly described species share these characters, allowing reliable placement within the subgenus Ecnomorphus. Leng and Mutchler (1914) provided a preliminary list of the Coleoptera of the West Indies, and included two species of Ecnomorphus, Carpophilus dufaui Grouvelle and Carpophilus tempestivus Erichson, from Guade­loupe and Cuba, respectively. Several more checklists have been provided for the Coleoptera fauna of different islands in the West Indies (Blackwelder 1945; Wolcott 1951; Miskimen and Bond 1970; Woodruff et al. 1998; Peck et al. 2002, 2014; Peck 2005, 2006, 2009a, 2009b, 2010, 2011a, 2011b, 2016; Ivie et al. 2008; Perez-Gelabert 2008; Turnbow and Thomas 2008; Thomas et al. 2013); however, no other species of Carpophilus (Ecnomorphus) have been added to the fauna of the region. Peck (2005) listed 32 species of nitidulid present in Cuba, 13 of which are listed as “Carpophilus” but also include species of Nitops Murray and list several species that have since been synonymized or re-elevated so should be considered outdated. Peck et al. (2014) list 24 species of nitidulid in the Guadeloupe Archipelago, six of which are in the subfamily Carpophilinae (again, all listed as Carpophilus in the text, but several are considered Nitops by many authors). Peck et al. (2014) listed several additional species under Carpophilus dimidiatus (Fabricius) as sibling species that are suspected to be present but unable to be confirmed as part of the study, further illustrating the lack of taxonomic resources for the group and the need for revision in the West Indies. In order to provide a foundation for more focused taxonomic work in the area, we present a review and dichotomous key to the Carpophilus (Ecnomorphus) that occur in the West Indies, as well as descrip­tions and diagnoses of two new species

A Survey of the Beetles (Insecta: Coleoptera) in Several Natural Areas Across Indiana, U.S.A.

A broad survey of the beetle (Insecta: Coleoptera) fauna of several managed parks and natural areas was undertaken over the past decade across the state of Indiana, USA. These areas represent many of the habitat types present in Indiana including forests, grassland, freshwater streams, and wetlands, as well as more unique habitats found in limited areas in the state such as sand dunes and cypress swamps. The specific localities are: Indiana Dunes State Park, Kankakee Sands, Ross Hills Park, Shades State Park, Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge, and Twin Swamps Nature Preserve. Beetles were surveyed using a variety of active and passive collecting techniques, outlined here. Specimens were then identified to the lowest possible level, often by world authorities in each group. Results are given as numbers of families, genera, and species for each property, in addition to a total combined species list summarizing all the efforts presented. We record a total of 1,328 species from six nature preserves across Indiana

LUX -- A Laser-Plasma Driven Undulator Beamline

The LUX beamline is a novel type of laser-plasma accelerator. Building on the joint expertise of the University of Hamburg and DESY the beamline was carefully designed to combine state-of-the-art expertise in laser-plasma acceleration with the latest advances in accelerator technology and beam diagnostics. LUX introduces a paradigm change moving from single-shot demonstration experiments towards available, stable and controllable accelerator operation. Here, we discuss the general design concepts of LUX and present first critical milestones that have recently been achieved, including the generation of electron beams at the repetition rate of up to 5 Hz with energies above 600 MeV and the generation of spontaneous undulator radiation at a wavelength well below 9 nm.Comment: submitte

Flourescent liquid pyrene derivative-in-water mircoemulsions

A fluorescent liquid pyrene derivative with a high fluorescence quantum yield (65%) in the bulk state is reported. With this as the sole oil phase, stable luminescent oil-in-water microemulsions have been prepared. Increasing the loading of liquid pyrene swells the droplets, as detected by small-angle neutron scattering. These larger droplets have a greater proportion of pyrene excimer emission contribution in their photoluminescence spectra, which leads to a red shift in the chromaticity of the emission

Delayed electron emission in strong-field driven tun-nelling from a metallic nanotip in the multi-electronregime

Illuminating a nano-sized metallic tip with ultrashort laser pulses leads to the emission of electrons due to multiphoton excitations. As optical fields become stronger, tunnelling emission directly from the Fermi level becomes prevalent. This can generate coherent electron waves in vacuum leading to a variety of attosecond phenomena. Working at high emission currents where multi-electron effects are significant, we were able to characterize the transition from one regime to the other. Specifically, we found that the onset of laser-driven tunnelling emission is heralded by the appearance of a peculiar delayed emission channel. In this channel, the electrons emitted via laser-driven tunnelling emission are driven back into the metal, and some of the electrons reappear in the vacuum with some delay time after undergoing inelastic scattering and cascading processes inside the metal. Our understanding of these processes gives insights on attosecond tunnelling emission from solids and should prove useful in designing new types of pulsed electron sources.111410Ysciescopu

Polarization and Strong Infra-Red Activity in Compressed Solid Hydrogen

Under a pressure of ~150 GPa solid molecular hydrogen undergoes a phase transition accompanied by a dramatic rise in infra-red absorption in the vibron frequency range. We use the Berry's phase approach to calculate the electric polarization in several candidate structures finding large, anisotropic dynamic charges and strongly IR-active vibron modes. The polarization is shown to be greatly affected by the overlap between the molecules in the crystal, so that the commonly used Clausius-Mossotti description in terms of polarizable, non-overlapping molecular charge densities is inadequate already at low pressures and even more so for the compressed solid.Comment: To appear in Phys. Rev. Let

Lateral Gene Expression in Drosophila Early Embryos Is Supported by Grainyhead-Mediated Activation and Tiers of Dorsally-Localized Repression

The general consensus in the field is that limiting amounts of the transcription factor Dorsal establish dorsal boundaries of genes expressed along the dorsal-ventral (DV) axis of early Drosophila embryos, while repressors establish ventral boundaries. Yet recent studies have provided evidence that repressors act to specify the dorsal boundary of intermediate neuroblasts defective (ind), a gene expressed in a stripe along the DV axis in lateral regions of the embryo. Here we show that a short 12 base pair sequence (“the A-box”) present twice within the ind CRM is both necessary and sufficient to support transcriptional repression in dorsal regions of embryos. To identify binding factors, we conducted affinity chromatography using the A-box element and found a number of DNA-binding proteins and chromatin-associated factors using mass spectroscopy. Only Grainyhead (Grh), a CP2 transcription factor with a unique DNA-binding domain, was found to bind the A-box sequence. Our results suggest that Grh acts as an activator to support expression of ind, which was surprising as we identified this factor using an element that mediates dorsally-localized repression. Grh and Dorsal both contribute to ind transcriptional activation. However, another recent study found that the repressor Capicua (Cic) also binds to the A-box sequence. While Cic was not identified through our A-box affinity chromatography, utilization of the same site, the A-box, by both factors Grh (activator) and Cic (repressor) may also support a “switch-like” response that helps to sharpen the ind dorsal boundary. Furthermore, our results also demonstrate that TGF-β signaling acts to refine ind CRM expression in an A-box independent manner in dorsal-most regions, suggesting that tiers of repression act in dorsal regions of the embryo

Developing a 50 MeV LPA-based Injector at ATHENA for a Compact Storage Ring

The laser-driven generation of relativistic electron beams in plasma and their acceleration to high energies with GV/m-gradients has been successfully demonstrated. Now, it is time to focus on the application of laser-plasma accelerated (LPA) beams. The "Accelerator Technology HElmholtz iNfrAstructure" (ATHENA) of the Helmholtz Association fosters innovative particle accelerators and high-power laser technology. As part of the ATHENAe pillar several different applications driven by LPAs are to be developed, such as a compact FEL, medical imaging and the first realization of LPA-beam injection into a storage ring. The latter endeavour is conducted in close collaboration between Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and Helmholtz Institute Jena (HIJ). In the cSTART project at KIT, a compact storage ring optimized for short bunches and suitable to accept LPA-based electron bunches is in preparation. In this conference contribution we will introduce the 50 MeV LPA-based injector and give an overview about the project goals. The key parameters of the plasma injector will be presented. Finally, the current status of the project will be summarized